Wow. The poems are bite-sized (some only three lines long), but the feelings are definitely not.

I normally call authors by their first names in my reviews, but Nayyirah Waheed has awed me so much that I feel like she deserves a little more respect. Ms. Waheed is astoundingly gifted with words. She summed up the complex feelings of my childhood in a poem that was only 12 words long. Theoretically that shouldn't be possible, but I swear this book is magic. It brings up emotions, some of which I don't have words for - but that's okay. These poems make you feel like it's just okay to feel.

Ms. Waheed also includes poems about colonialism, racism, and the experience of being Black. (This next bit is going to sound a little racist, but bear with me.) I'd never really understood on an emotional level the effects of racism and oppression. Sure, I knew it was bad and that oppressed people must suffer, but let's be real - I'm white, straight-passing, cis-passing, and don't require any acommodations for my disabilities. I've never been oppressed. These poems gave me a brief glimpse of the complicated emotions black people feel around racism and colonization.

I definitely recommend that white people read this book. Actually, I recommend everybody read this book. It's a quick read, but it's so powerful and so full of feeling. This is what poetry should be, and I adore it.